Archive for the ‘Gadgets/Products’ Category

First, the good news: technologically speaking, the Aha Mobile traffic app is at the front of the pack. It pairs the iPhone's built-in geolocation capabilities with data from INRIX, Yelp, SitOrSquat, and PhotoEnforced, making Aha your one-stop-shop for data on traffic, food, bathrooms, and speed cameras -- without having to deal with itty-bitty maps. Other features allow you to communicate with nearby drivers and post to Twitter and Facebook. Also, it's totally free.

The bad news? Aha works better in some cities than others, its geolocation tools occasionally go off-track, it's a memory hog, and it's somewhat unstable. But as long as Aha is...

It feels like summer just ended, but another round of mini-vacations lies just around the corner. Holiday road trips aren't usually as fun as the summertime variety, since they typically involve moms, dads, and eggnog-scented aunts, but a few precautions will make them slightly more enjoyable. We suggest flipping through The Official Shotgun Rules, which clarifies once and for all who is truly entitled to call shotgun. That may not sound like "fun", per se, but it might ward off a couple rounds of backseat noogies when you're heading over the river and through the woods. Peace of mind has to count for something, right? [ShotgunRules via ...

Back in the 18th century, British philosopher Jeremy Bentham came up with a nifty way to keep prisoners in line: as long as the incarcerated thought they were being watched, they behaved, even if they couldn't see the guards. The same "big brother" philosophy has been used ad nauseam since then, even in automobiles. Its newest iteration comes via GreenRoad's in-vehicle data recorder, which takes notes on unsafe driving habits like quick stops and sharp turns and records them for later review.

GreenRoad's difference, however, is that it also grades drivers in real time with red, yellow, and green lights. And the technology is...